Archive for February, 2012

Tomorrow, March begins and the Equinox and Spring move near. March gains its name from the Roman month Martius which gains its name from Mars, the Roman god of war (and much less of a bully than his Greek counterpart Ares).

So, the theme for March will be the military and things martial. As usual, if there is anything in particular you would like to see let me know.

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When Northangan, the Prince Regent, tried to murder his wife -the rightful queen- he found that each blow of his dagger opened the same wound upon his body. He dropped the weapon and begged her forgiveness.

Three days later, when the executioner’s axe took Northangan’s head, there was no echoing wound on the queen’s neck.

Regent’s Crown

These items are surprisingly plain given their name, they are a simple band of silver inlaid with symbols of the kingdom on the outside in gold with the subtle use of gems. The inside has a list of the ruling royalty etched in gold. Only close examination will reveal how valuable the circlet actually is. Given to the queen or prince regent of a kingdom, they serve to protect and guide both the wearer and their royal spouse. The Regent’s Crown, while worn, is virtually invisible blending in with the wearer’s hair (or lack thereof) and fitting comfortably beneath any wig or other headgear.

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“Learn the law, obey the law, live the law. Such is the way of Arachast.”

The Legalist Monarchy of Arachast

Justice?

In the aftermath of the sundering, the kingdom of Arachast suffered heavily. Rivers changed course or dried up, the climate shifted instantly, crops that once grew well now died. The king could not handle the strain and broke, the only one with the status to take over was the high judge. She did not shirk this task and imposed order, from this order flowed new rules and new laws, reordering the kingdom from top to bottom. The High Judge’s daughter, also a trained legal scholar, married the crown prince, their son was the first High Judge-King of Arachast.

Arachast runs on an efficient set of complex laws administered from the capital of Arachasti. The walls of the throne room of the palace is inscribed with the basic laws of the land and are open to students and visitors when court is not in session. Vast legal libraries and courts of law are scattered across the capital, many of the jurists are in constant rivalry for status and positions.

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Opponents Unlimited is a collection of supervillains, lone villains and groups, most of which are very offbeat or even outright zany. For colorful and unusual characters, it is worth a look.

Opponents Unlimited is a 33-page PDF (31-pages after you remove the covers) for the Villains & Vigilantes RPG written by Stephen Jones and published by Fantasy Games Unlimited. This is a scan of the original physical book, while a clean scan it makes the product a large file and unsearchable, both of which are inconvenient.

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People’s Revolution is a resource for Golden Age / World War II superheroic roleplaying giving the GM access to the Soviet Superteam for use as troublesome allies during WW2 or as rivals and enemies for Silver Age games. It is a solid resource for two eras (or more) of superheroic campaigns.

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Verne is a useful resource for anyone planning a steampunk or Victorian inspired game, especially if you are using the EABA system, but much of the information is just information on the era. It provides a solid framework for Victorian adventuring and worth taking a look at if you are thinking of a campaign in that era.

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The young rapscallion of a thief danced through the crowd, the mage-guards chasing after him, their wands at the ready. On the rare occasion they had a clear shot through the milling people, she deflected their magic with a spiral shaped buckler.

“How is she doing that?” grumbled the scholar-sargent. “Keep after that thief!” He plodded on behind the pursuit, regretting spending too much time behind a desk.

Pre-buckler

Two young mage-guard finally got in front of her. One of them lashed out with a spell of holding and then toppled backward as his spell was reflect back upon him but the thief’s buckler . . . after that, the mage-guard lost interest in the pursuit long enough for the rogue to escape.

Whorl Buckler

These rare shields are made from the apical whorl of certain usually large gastropods (such as the flail snail) alchemically treated, the outer edge reinforced with bronze polished to a mirror shine.